The 38-year-old McDonald appeared in eight games for the Tribe but only recorded eight plate appearances. He went hitless for Cleveland and has collected just two hits in 38 at-bats this season between the Pirates and Indians. For his career, McDonald is just a .236/.274/.327 hitter. He's been an outstanding defender at shortstop according to both UZR and DRS, however.

The Indians announced that they have acquired John McDonald from the Pirates in exchange for cash considerations or a player to be named later. McDonald will help bolster the club in the middle of the infield in the wake of Asdrubal Cabrera‘s right quadriceps injury.

The 38-year-old has appeared in just 16 games for the Pirates so far this season. Over the course of his 15 year major league career, McDonald owns a .237/.275/.328 slash line. Last year, the veteran hit .249/.295/.386 in 70 games for the D’Backs with above-average defense at shortstop.

Matt Garza, number seven on MLBTR's 2014 Free Agent Rankings, is slated for one or two additional minor league rehab starts after an abbreviated outing yesterday, reports MLB.com's Carrie Muskat. Garza threw 66 pitches (40 for strikes) over 3 1/3 innings for Double-A Tennessee allowing three hits and two walks. "He felt great and everything, but not real efficient," Cubs mangager Dale Sveum said. "Right now, we have to get him built up to get to the fourth, fifth and hopefully sixth inning." Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times tweets Garza is expected to throw 85-95 pitches in his next rehab start, which will come next week for Triple-A Iowa.

Pirates second baseman Neil Walker is set to return from the disabled list tomorrow and Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review doesn't expect utilityman John McDonald to be designated for assignment to create space on the 25-man roster. McDonald, hitting only .067/.176/.100 in 34 plate appearances this year, would have to clear waivers while infielder Jordy Mercer still has minor league options available. "I think the term general managers use is you want to maintain all of your assets," manager Clint Hurdle said. "You don't want to release somebody if another guy has options.We're mindful of that."

The Padres, who have the 13th overall pick in next month's amateur draft, aren't concerned that the perceived top players will be off the board when it comes their turn, according to Corey Brock of MLB.com. "There's probably more balance [in the Draft] than people give it credit for," said Chad MacDonald, vice president and general manager of player personnel, who will preside over the Padres' draft. "There are a lot of high school hitters out there. I think people are quick to grade a Draft." In addition to their area scouts and cross-checkers, the Padres have had GM Josh Byrnes, vice president/assistant GM AJ Hinch, and senior vice president Omar Minaya in the field scouting players.

The Cubs haven't been in contact with Chone Figgins, ESPN Chicago's Jesse Rogers reports. Figgins was released by the Marlins earlier this week and, as Rogers notes, is one of the few veteran options available if the Cubs want to bring in a third baseman.

Chris Cwik of CBSSports.com analyzes the cost of an Adam Wainwright extension with the Cardinals and figures Wainwright will end up being paid between $21-$23.5MM per season. Talks are ongoing between Wainwright and the Cards and the ace right-hander feels positive that an extension will be settled before Opening Day. Wainwright is eligible for free agency after this season.

Jonathan Sanchez can opt out of his minor league deal with the Pirates on Sunday if he hasn't been added to the club's Major League roster, but the Bucs have until Tuesday to respond, MLB.com's Tom Singer reports. Sanchez's one-year contract will guarantee him $1.375MM if he makes the roster.

Also from Singer, he opines that the Pirates' trade forJohn McDonald is the kind of veteran acquisition a team makes when it believes it will contend. Otherwise, Singer wonders why Pittsburgh would add McDonald to an already-deep middle infield mix.

1:03pm: The teams announced the trade, which sends McDonald to the Pirates for a player to be named or cash considerations.

11:19am: The Pirates acquired infielder John McDonald from the Diamondbacks, Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reports (on Twitter). The Diamondbacks will obtain a player to be named later in the deal, Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com reports (on Twitter). Rosenthal reported eight days ago that the Diamondbacks were looking to trade McDonald.

McDonald appeared in 70 games as a shortstop, second baseman and third baseman last year, posting a .249/.295/.386 batting line with six home runs. The 14-year veteran has a reputation as an excellent defender, and UZR suggests that McDonald's play has remained solid in recent years.

McDonald, 38, is now entering the second season of a two-year, $3MM contract. He'll earn $1.5MM in 2013 then become a free agent. He joins a Pirates infield that includes starters Neil Walker, Clint Barmes and Pedro Alvarez. Utility player Josh Harrison backed up up Barmes in 2012 and projects as a bench player again in 2013.

McDonald appeared in 70 games as a shortstop, second baseman and third baseman last year, posting a .249/.295/.386 batting line with six home runs. The 14-year veteran has a reputation as an excellent defender, and UZR suggests that McDonald's play has remained solid in recent years.

McDonald, 38, is now entering the second season of a two-year, $3MM contract. He'll earn $1.5MM in 2013 then become a free agent. The Cardinals recently lost Rafael Furcal to Tommy John surgery and could consider a player such as McDonald. However, St. Louis has internal options in Pete Kozma and Ronny Cedeno.

Before Eric Chavez agreed to terms with the Diamondbacks, he had spoken to the White Sox, while Jeff Keppinger, who signed with the Sox, was coveted by the Marlins, says Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (Twitterlinks).

The signing of Chavez gives the D-Backs one too many infield bench options, and a team source says someone is likely to be traded, according to Nick Piecoro of the Arizona Republic (via Twitter). Piecoro names John McDonald as the possible odd man out.

The Mets may leave Nashville having only finalized the David Wright extension, says Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com. One Mets official tells Rubin that teams are asking for Zack Wheeler in virtually every trade proposal, even for platoon-type catchers, which isn't happening (Twitterlinks).

The Rays "seem dead-set against trading James Shields," according to CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler (Twitter link). Knobler said Tampa Bay might be more inclined to deal Jeremy Hellickson than Shields, though he notes it's "very unlikely" that either pitcher is traded. The Rays exercised Shields' $7.5MM option for 2012 on Monday.

David Ortiz tells WEEI.com's Rob Bradford that the Red Sox didn't make him an offer during the team's five-day exclusive negotiating window with the free agent slugger. While no offer was made, GM Ben Cherington has spoken to Ortiz's representatives since the season ended.

In a conference call with reporters (including MLB.com's Gregor Chisholm), Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos said the team wasn't able to counter John McDonald's new two-year contract with the D'Backs due to the Jays' unclear situation at second base and with the utility spot. McDonald, a long-time fan favorite in Toronto, was expected to rejoin the Jays after being traded to Arizona last summer, but Anthopoulos said there were no hard feelings about McDonald's decision.

Anthopoulos noted that the Jays staff gave Tony LaCava a standing ovation when the assistant GM returned to work yesterday. LaCava turned down the Orioles' offer of their general manager's position in order to stay in Toronto.

The Diamondbacks announced that they've agreed to terms with defensive specialist John McDonald on a two-year deal. Jack Magruder of FOXSportsArizona.com says the deal is worth $1.5MM per season (on Twitter). McDonald provides the Diamondbacks with insurance for Stephen Drew, who missed much of 2011 with a fractured ankle.

McDonald joined the D'Backs along with Aaron Hill in the August trade that sent Kelly Johnson to Toronto. The 37-year-old didn't do much at the plate this past season, hitting .229/.269/.308, but he's known as a defensively skilled player at second, short and third. SFX represents McDonald, as our Agency Database shows.

Blue Jays president Paul Beeston sat down with Richard Griffin of the the Toronto Star to talk about the state of the club, free agents coming north of the border, and even his own contract. Here are some highlights..

Beeston was reluctant to tip his cap on whether or not the Blue Jays will make a run at Yu Darvish, but he did say that "I think those people at Rogers who never heard of him before, now know this player is in existence." Despite that, he has yet to inform ownership that he is ready to spend extra payroll dollars.

Beeston said that he's happy for the ex-Jays that made it to the postseason this year with other clubs. Ultimately, he says that there's no way of knowing if the Blue Jays would have made it to the playoffs if they still had players such as Roy Halladay, Shaun Marcum, John McDonald, and Aaron Hill in the fold.

When discussing Hill, Beeston said, "I think that [General Manager] Alex [Anthopoulos] had determined that he wanted to make a move with Aaron." Toronto shipped Hill and McDonald to the Diamondbacks for Kelly Johnson in an August trade.

Halladay "made it quite clear" that he was not going to re-sign with the Blue Jays after the 2010 season.

The Blue Jays didn't make a serious run at Cliff Lee in free agency last year and Beeston believes that doing so would have been a "waste of time".

Even though the senior people at Rogers aren't baseball fans, Beeston still keeps them informed of major decisions. For example, Beeston discussed the Halladay trade with management before pulling the trigger. Beeston says that Rogers has yet to interfere with or object to a front office decision.

At a fan get-together in February, Beeston said that the club could possibly spend up to $120MM on payroll. Beeston clarified those comments and says that the $120MM figure is in reference to salaries on the 40-man roster and not including draft bonuses and international free agency.

That uptick in payroll could happen this year or next year. Beeston plans on adding a big piece at the right time for the right price. He later added that the team first has to show that they can contend before they can land the premier free agents on the open market.

The Blue Jays have built up the farm system and they're reassured of their talent by the amount of inquiries they get from other teams. The Colby Rasmus trade showed that the club could afford to trade several attractive pieces without mortgaging their future.

Rumors of Beeston re-upping his contract through 2015 are not true. In fact, he says that he hasn't talked to anyone about an extension of his current deal.

Beeston said that he sees an opening in the AL East because of the uncertainty in Boston, aging stars in New York, and limited capital in Tampa Bay.

Even though attendance in down in Toronto, revenue continues to grow for the organization. The belief is that the pace will pick up once the team is contending again.